TTC’s Sunday-only ‘church’ stops gone as of June 7

TORONTO — The TTC will soon eliminate its Sunday-only streetcar stops.

Currently there are 42 positioned next to approximately 20 places of worship in Toronto — one for each direction of travel. As of June 7 they will be gone.

WATCH: TTC eliminating Sunday ‘church’ service

The recent changes, approved by the TTC board last May, are meant to make the system more efficient for the thousands of non-church-goers who take the TTC on Sundays.

“Putting stops in at specific locations for one small group of people isn’t something that we as an organization in 2015 can justify,” TTC spokesperson Brad Ross told Global News earlier this month.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Putting stops in at specific locations for one small group of people isn't something that we as an organization in 2015 can justify," TTC spokesperson Brad Ross told Global News earlier this month.

The distinctive yellow stop signs are often within 100 metres from the next regular stop and force streetcars to unload passengers at shorter intervals, thereby increasing total travel time.

The TTC said seniors with mobility issue may qualify for Wheel-Trans service.

The transit commission reviewed all of their 800 or so streetcar stops and plan to eliminate about 80 of them; 42 on the chopping block are the specially designated stops near churches.

The TTC also plans to adjust all streetcar stops to be located near signal-controlled intersections or crosswalks.

With files from Peter Kim